AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: GUARDIANS VS RAYS

October 12, 2026

Kevin Cash

Tropicana Field

Tampa Bay Rays

Pregame 1 Press Conference

Q. Six years ago yesterday you were the home team for the ALCS. But you were anywhere but home out in San Diego, where I think you spent two or three weeks. Just to be back here in this building, in a building that, of course, was not in use last year, just talk about your appreciation factor for the whole thing?

KEVIN CASH: A lot of appreciation for sure for being back here. That was a whirlwind six years ago and maybe one of the greatest baseball experiences of my life. It was so unique how it went down.

But I think if we could trade it, we would trade it to be back at the Trop. And what we saw from the Trop, throughout the regular season, and definitely in games 1 and 2 with our fans and the support, it means a lot.

And then all the people that put so much work and effort into getting it back into the condition that it is now, playable, very, very grateful for all of that.

Q. Can you just take us through your rotation plans for the rest of the series, how you guys came to those decisions?

KEVIN CASH: Obviously Ras today. Freddy will start tomorrow. We're going to continue to announce it a day in advance. I think the rest of the guys are on call in the bullpen tonight and will contribute as needed.

Q. Further to the point you were making about being back here, as you think about some of the challenges from last year, not being able to play here, being in a temporary home, what are some of the biggest differences you feel you've been able to have helped this group this year just being back at your normal stadium?

KEVIN CASH: Staying out of the heat, staying out of the rain. Look, very appreciative to the Yankees and Steinbrenner Field. It was the easiest transition for us to just go 30 minutes down the road to get there. But it was definitely different.

When we played in the Trop, and I feel like for many years, we've created a home-field advantage here for us. And we didn't necessarily feel that last season.

But walking in here, after Spring Training and seeing what had been done and the improvements and the modifications and just like I said earlier, the amount of work, it was overwhelming. And I know our guys really appreciated being back home.

Q. We saw your lineup post. What goes into your thought process versus lefty versus righty? Today looks like you've got Fortes and Williamson in there, different than the other night.

KEVIN CASH: Look, Foster Griffin is a very talented pitcher and he has success against righties and lefties. But generally speaking, when we're facing lefties, we tend to go with some right-handed bats.

No different today. I think in Yankee Stadium it was a little bit different, just given the way the dimensions of their field plays. But we need Ben and Ryan Vilade and Forty to come in there and do what they've done for us all season.

I think we've had enough success against left-handed starters that it makes a lot of sense to use those guys, and knowing that Cleveland can adjust on the fly. I'd like to think that we're equipped and ready for that if that happens.

Q. Can you tell us just what Kyle Snyder has meant to this pitching staff over the years?

KEVIN CASH: Great question, very fair question. That's probably a longer answer. I don't know if I could put into words right now the impact and importance he's had to the pitchers here at the Major League level, the entire pitching department throughout the organization.

I'm certainly biased, but I think he's the best in baseball at what he does, the care that he shows each individual pitcher, whether it's in the offseason, Spring Training and obviously during the season -- the way that he builds relationships and creates that trust within each individual pitcher.

And I think the way he's evolved. I mean, we've seen pitching -- there's a lot of information out there right now about pitching. There has been for quite some time. I think Kyle's always at the forefront of being very curious to try to understand what that information is providing or saying. And he's the best at implementing it with individual pitchers.

Q. If I counted this right, today and tomorrow will be the first time you've played back-to-back games since the end of the regular season in over two weeks. Do you think the getting back to some form of normalcy, and it would be seven games, obviously, potentially, over nine days?

KEVIN CASH: I think the guys are ready for that. These off days, we talked about it, the DS was very unique, and we were fortunate enough to do it in three games where we had some additional off days after that.

But I think the guys are going to be excited knowing that, after the game today, they're coming back in to play. That's what they're used to. That's kind of how their minds work, certainly, throughout the regular season. This feels a little bit more normal.